1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to caps worn by persons (a) partially or fully submerged in water or other liquid or substance or (b) otherwise exposed to water or other liquid or substance (including, without limitation, persons engaged in aquatic activities such as swimming and diving), and who desire that such water or other liquid or substance not contact their hair or ears, as exemplified by swimming caps, shower caps and bathing caps. This invention relates to the foregoing as well as being lightweight, comfortable (i.e. an uncomfortably tight fit is not necessary to maintain a watertight seal) and as simple to put on as traditional caps, all the while retaining the external appearance of traditional caps. Various cap circumference and cap margin sizes are contemplated by this application.
2. Description of Prior Arts
Prior comparable caps which have offered a watertight seal (a) are not entirely watertight, and/or (b) require a complicated series of steps be performed by the wearer of the cap in order to obtain a watertight seal, and/or (c) necessitate that the wearer wear a cumbersome apparatus in order to obtain a watertight seal, and/or (d) compromise many of the advantages of tradition caps, including, without limitation, aerodynamic design, virtual weightlessness and simplicity of design, and/or (e) look notably different than traditional caps making the cap less desirable for many wearers, and/or (f) fit so tightly on the wearer's head that the tension of the cap is uncomfortable.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,349,702 and 4,281,417 have been issued for "leakproof" and/or "watertight" swimming caps, but the foregoing are not related to the present invention, and do not contain the features which make this invention new. U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,702 achieves its watertight seal through a cushion structure and an inflatable bladder structure disposed between the cap and the cushion structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,417 also achieves its watertight seal through a structure which includes an inflatable band. Other patents concerning swimming caps are either not watertight or are helmets (i.e. made of non-flexible material).